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NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger and the association's senior government affairs staff discussed opportunities for credit union regulatory relief in the current environment during Wednesday's member call-in, which also briefed members on the association's continued efforts to keep credit union issues at the forefront.

Berger noted that NAFCU staff is on Capitol Hill every week advocating for credit union issues despite "a very difficult environment." He noted there are some very "high hurdles" to overcome, with legislation moving very slowly in Congress despite single-party control. He emphasized the importance of making sure lawmakers and policy makers understand the importance of credit unions to consumers, small businesses and the economy at large.

During Wednesday's call, Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt moderated a discussion with senior members of NAFCU's government affairs team about the latest credit union news on the legislative, regulatory and economic fronts.

Hunt noted that despite continued gridlock, "there is some potential on the [regulatory] side to see some positive changes." Hunt also updated NAFCU members on recent litigation, including the lawsuit over the constitutionality of the CFPB's structure, various class action suits relating to data security breaches and the lawsuit over the NCUA's field-of-membership rule, which she said is expected to move slowly.

Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler emphasized the importance of bipartisan support for regulatory relief measures due to the gridlock in Congress. He said he expects the "Financial CHOICE Act" could be delayed until summer – perhaps as late as September – and said smaller regulatory relief measures could be introduced in the interim.

Director of Regulatory Affairs Alexander Monterrubio highlighted NCUA Acting Chairman J. Mark McWatters' recently announced priorities for the agency, which focus on the "thoughtful loosening" of regulations and the revisiting of areas including risk-based capital, stress testing and field of membership restrictions. Monterrubio also noted that CFPB rulemaking has slowed down in recent months.

Director of Political Affairs Dan O'Brien highlighted another congressional recess coming up next month and urged association members to contact their lawmakers via the Grassroots Action Center, which includes talking points on top credit union goals like repealing the Dodd-Frank Act's Durbin amendment.

Chief Economist and Director of Research Curt Long discussed the recent study commissioned by NAFCU on the credit union tax exemption's economic benefit to consumers. He also discussed the likelihood of a National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund premium later this year, and he emphasized that NAFCU is continuing to monitor the status of both that fund and its potential merger with the Temporary Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund.

Long also discussed the Federal Open Market Committee's recent interest rate hike. "I don't expect much to happen at the May meeting, but we could see another rate hike in June," Long said.

Finally, Vice President of Regulatory Compliance Brandy Bruyere noted the association's continued advocacy for regulatory relief and further guidance from the Defense Department regarding the Military Lending Act. "We're cautiously optimistic that we'll see some positive movement from the DoD in the coming months," Bruyere said.